Further Reading

Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
Defense Industry
Other Conflicts
News Reports

Current Operations

• Iran-Taliban talks: An effort to promote regional peace Press TV 13 Jan 2019 -- Tehran has confirmed that it has been in talks with the Afghan Taliban in an effort to promote Afghan and regional peace. Analysts say the move would also prevent the region from turning into a hotbed for Takiri terrorist groups, especially Daesh, which has already gained a foothold in Afghanistan as well.

Defense Policy / Programs

• Washington, Doha Sign Deal to Expand al-Udeid Air Base in Qatar - Pompeo Sputnik 13 Jan 2019 -- Last year, Qatari Defence Minister Khalid bin Mohammad Al Attiyah said that the government of Qatar was expanding the US military's al-Udeid Air Base and sought to make the facility and Washington's presence there "permanent".
• White House asked Pentagon for Iran military strike plans in 2018: Report Press TV 13 Jan 2019 -- The White House National Security Council (NSC) had asked the US Defense Ministry to list available options to strike Iran after a militant attack near the American diplomatic mission in Iraq last year, a new report has revealed.
• White House Reportedly Asked For Options On Iran Strike Last Year RFE/RL 13 Jan 2019 -- President Donald Trump's national security team asked the Pentagon last autumn for possible options to strike Iran in response to an attack on an area in Baghdad where the U.S. Embassy is located, according to The Wall Street Journal.
• White House Requested Set of Options to Hit Iran - Reports Sputnik 13 Jan 2019 -- Following revelations of Israel's strikes against Iranian targets in Syria, it became known that Washington had also mulled over plans to attack Iran after three mortar shells landed in Baghdad's diplomatic quarter near the US Embassy in September 2018. The US blamed Iran for the attack, despite Tehran's categorical denial.
• Iran to unveil new air defense system by yearend IRNA 13 Jan 2019 -- The new Iranian air defense system 'Bavar-373' will be unveiled by the end of the current Iranian calendar year (March 20), Deputy Commander of the Islamic Republic Army for Coordination Affairs said.
• Russia to Launch Serial Production of Pistol to Replace Makarov in 2019 - Source Sputnik 13 Jan 2019 -- Serial production of the newest Russian pistol for the Defence Ministry, which is intended to replace the legendary Makarov pistol (PM), will begin this year, a defence industry source told Sputnik.
• China's 'Underground Steel Great Wall' capable of defeating hypersonic weapon attacks: academician Global Times 13 Jan 2019 -- China's "Underground Steel Great Wall" could "guarantee the security of the country's strategic arsenal" against potential attacks, including those from future hypersonic weapons, Qian Qihu, recipient of the country's highest science and technology award, told the Global Times.
• First Orders of 2019: Xi Warns PLA be Ready for 'Hardship, Crisis and Battle' Sputnik 13 Jan 2019 -- During his first official address of the new year to the nation's military forces, Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday ordered the People's Liberation Army (PLA), the country's armed forces, to prepare for battle.
• HRW Calls For Sanctions Against Afghan Defense Minister Over Alleged Rights Abuses RFE/RL 13 Jan 2019 -- Human Rights Watch (HRW) has urged major donors to impose sanctions on Afghanistan's newly appointed defense minister over alleged human rights abuses and other crimes.
• Interview With Margaret Brennan of CBS's Face the Nation US Dept. of State 13 Jan 2019 -- Interview of Michael R. Pompeo, Secretary of State

Defense Industry

Other Conflicts

• Intelligence commander of Yemen's deposed gov't killed IRNA 13 Jan 2019 -- Yemeni sources announced Sunday that the commander of the Intelligence Organization of Yemen Mohammad Saleh Tammah who had been injured in Ansarullah drone attack succumbed to his injuries.
• Yemen conducts missile attack on southern Saudi Arabia IRNA 13 Jan 2019 -- The Yemeni missile units targeted Saudi forces' positions in Najran with two missiles, Yemeni media reported.
• Several Saudi troops killed in Yemeni forces' retaliatory attack on Jizan Press TV 13 Jan 2019 -- Yemeni forces have carried out a retaliatory drone attack against Saudi forces, killing a number of them in the Kingdom's Jizan region.
• UN monitor of Yemen's truce exited agreed path: Houthis Press TV 13 Jan 2019 -- Yemen's Houthi Ansarullah movement has boycotted a United Nations (UN)-led ceasefire monitoring team in the war-ravaged country's flashpoint city of Hudaydah, accusing the head of the team of pursuing "other agendas."
• Yemeni forces, allies have many drones, modern ballistic missiles in inventory: Army spox Press TV 13 Jan 2019 -- The spokesman for Yemeni Armed Forces says army troopers and allied fighters from Popular Committees have a large number of domestically-developed combat drones and ballistic missiles in their inventory.
• Top intel official injured in Houthi drone attack dies Press TV 13 Jan 2019 -- A high-ranking intelligence official injured in a Houthi drone attack on Yemen's largest air base held by Saudi mercenaries has died of his wounds, AFP news agency reported on Monday.
• High-profile opposition leader ready to visit Damascus Press TV 13 Jan 2019 -- The head of a foreign-backed Syrian opposition group says he is ready to visit Damascus for talks with the government following reports that the United States has started withdrawing its troops from the country.
• Damascus Confirms Talks With Kurds Intensified Due to Threats by Turkey Sputnik 13 Jan 2019 -- Ayman Soussan, an assistant to the Syrian Foreign Minister, confirmed on Sunday that talks between Damascus and the Kurdish forces in Syria's northeast have intensified due to a possible Turkish military operation.
• US to Stay in Syria to Help PYD Strike Better Deal With Damascus - Opposition Sputnik 13 Jan 2019 -- The United States is likely to maintain its military presence in Syria long enough to allow the Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) to negotiate an acceptable deal with the Syrian government, member of the Syrian Negotiations Commission Bassma Kodmani told Sputnik.
• Pompeo vows to 'expel' Iranians from Syria, calls US pullout 'tactical' anti-Iran bid Press TV 13 Jan 2019 -- US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has threatened to "expel" all Iranian forces in Syria, describing Washington's declared troop withdrawal from Syria as a "tactical change" of its mission to counter Iran's influence in the Arab country amid bolstering American military presence in the region.
• Trump Warns Turkey Against Hitting Syrian Kurds VOA 13 Jan 2019 -- President Donald Trump is warning Turkey it would face economic devastation if it strikes at the Kurds when U.S. forces pull out of Syria.
• Netanyahu Confirms Israeli Strikes On Iranian Targets In Syria RFE/RL 13 Jan 2019 -- Israel at the weekend carried out an air strike on Iranian weapons in Syria, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said.
• Syria says not intimidated by new Israeli airstrike Press TV 13 Jan 2019 -- Syria has complained to the UN about Israel's new air raids, stressing that the "cowardly" attacks will fail to hamper its resolve to defend the country and confront its enemies.
• Hamas to 'intensify confrontation' if Israeli military attacks besieged Gaza Strip Press TV 13 Jan 2019 -- The Palestinian resistance movement Hamas has held the Tel Aviv regime responsible for the ongoing escalation in the blockaded Gaza Strip, warning that the movement "will intensify the confrontation with Israel" in the coastal sliver if the Israeli military launches new attacks against the enclave.

News Reports

• Trump: 'Broken Border' More Damaging Than Government Shutdown VOA 13 Jan 2019 -- U.S. President Donald Trump contended Sunday that the damage from the country's "badly broken border" with Mexico is "far greater" than the effects of the longest-ever partial government shutdown, now in its 23rd day.
• I have been tougher on Russia than any other president: Trump Press TV 13 Jan 2019 -- US President Donald Trump claims he has been "far tougher" on Russia than past presidents, following new revelations about a 2017 FBI probe into whether he was working for the Russian government.
• Trump Dismisses New Allegations He Is Beholden to Putin VOA 13 Jan 2019 -- U.S. President Donald Trump is dismissing news reports suggesting he is beholden to Russia and President Vladimir Putin or hiding accounts of his private talks with the Russian leader the five times they have met, including at their July summit in Helsinki.
• Trump Denies Hiding Details Of Putin Meetings RFE/RL 13 Jan 2019 -- U.S. President Donald Trump has denied hiding details of conversations with Russian leader Vladimir Putin from administration officials, saying he is "not keeping anything under wraps."
• Trump Refutes Reports About Hiding Details of Talks With Putin Sputnik 13 Jan 2019 -- US President Donald Trump refuted on Saturday media reports that he had allegedly hidden some details of his one-on-one conversations with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
• US officials reportedly kept in dark about Trump-Putin meetings Press TV 13 Jan 2019 -- US officials have reportedly been unaware of details in the meetings between US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin.
• House Democrats eye reported FBI probe of Trump Press TV 13 Jan 2019 -- A US House committee will look into a media report that claims the FBI launched an inquiry in 2017 to find out whether President Donald Trump had been working on behalf of Russia, against US interests, says the panel's chairman.
• Joint Statement of the Second United States-Qatar Strategic Dialogue: Forward Together US Dept. of State 13 Jan 2019 -- The governments of the State of Qatar and the United States held the second Strategic Dialogue in Doha, Qatar on January 13, 2019.
• Remarks With Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani at a Press Availability US Dept. of State 13 Jan 2019 -- Remarks by Michael R. Pompeo, Secretary of State
• Remarks at the Opening Ceremony of the U.S.-Qatar Strategic Dialogue US Dept. of State 13 Jan 2019 -- Remarks by Michael R. Pompeo, Secretary of State
• GCC is ineffectual, needs new principles of management: Qatari FM Press TV 13 Jan 2019 -- Qatari Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani says the [Persian] Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) has no executive power left, calling for change to the structure of the six-member regional intergovernmental political and economic union.
• US threatens German companies with sanctions on Russian gas imports Press TV 13 Jan 2019 -- The United States has threatened German energy companies with possible sanctions over their dealings with Russia, after President Donald Trump warned that reliance on Russian energy makes Berlin a "captive" of Moscow.
• Schumer Says He Will Force Vote On U.S. Move To Ease Sanctions On Deripaska RFE/RL 13 Jan 2019 -- U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer says he will use the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act to force a vote on a resolution disapproving a decision by President Donald Trump to relax sanctions on companies connected to Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska.
• US Offered North Korea to Conduct Summit in Vietnam in Mid-February - Reports Sputnik 13 Jan 2019 -- US administration has offered North Korea to hold the next meeting of the two countries' leaders in Vietnam in mid-February, Japanese newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun reported on Sunday.
• Iran starts designing upgraded version of 20% enriched uranium fuel: Salehi ISNA 13 Jan 2019 -- "Iran has successfully started designing an upgraded version of 20% enriched uranium fuel for Tehran Nuclear Reactor for the first time," Head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Ali Akbar Salehi said.
• Iran taking first steps to design 20% modern nuclear fuel: nuclear chief Press TV 13 Jan 2019 -- Head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Ali Akbar Salehi says the country has broken new ground in the field of nuclear technology and is now taking preliminary steps toward production of 20-percent modern nuclear fuel.
• Iraq underlines cooperation with Iran despite US sanctions IRNA 13 Jan 2019 -- Iraqi Foreign Minister Mohammad Ali Hakim said on Sunday that despite US unilateral economic sanctions, his country insists on economic cooperation with the neighboring state of Iran.
• Iran, Iraq foiled US moves to sabotage mutual ties: FM Zarif Press TV 13 Jan 2019 -- Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has commended Iraq's positive stance on the promotion of ties with Iran, saying the two countries have managed to foil US bids to sabotage mutual relations.
• Iran dismisses rumors on JCPOA exit IRNA 13 Jan 2019 -- Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qasemi categorically dismissed the rumors on Tehran's exit from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
• Iran summons Polish envoy to protest US 'circus' in Warsaw Press TV 13 Jan 2019 -- The Iranian Foreign Ministry has summoned Polish chargé d'affaires in Tehran, Wojciech Unolt, to protest an anti-Iran US summit which Warsaw is set to host on February 13-14.
• Iran Protests To Poland Over Upcoming Summit RFE/RL 13 Jan 2019 -- The Iranian Foreign Ministry has summoned the Polish envoy in Tehran to protest Poland jointly hosting a global conference with the United States focused on the Middle East, and Iran in particular, local state media reported.
• Breakthrough Made in Treating Ebola Virus VOA 13 Jan 2019 -- In northeastern Congo, more than 600 people have fallen ill with the Ebola virus, and at least 368 people have died from the disease. It's been difficult to contain the virus because of conflict in the region, despite medical advances, including a vaccine.
• Pompeo: US to Seek Accountability for Khashoggi Murder VOA 13 Jan 2019 -- U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Sunday the U.S. will ask the Saudi crown prince Mohammed Bin Salman to make sure those who murdered journalist Jamal Khashoggi are held accountable for their crime.
• France's Macron Calls Fellow Citizens to National Debate VOA 13 Jan 2019 -- French President Emmanuel Macron has released what he calls a "letter to the French," encouraging a national debate on issues that have led to two months of anti-government protests.
• Russian Space Agency Hopeful Despite Failed Attempt To Control Satellite RFE/RL 13 Jan 2019 -- Russia's space agency says it has again failed to restore communications with an orbiting radio telescope but remains hopeful it will regain control of the satellite soon.
• Communication Session With Spektr-R Space Telescope Fails - Roscosmos Sputnik 13 Jan 2019 -- A representative of Russian space agency Roscosmos told Sputnik on Sunday that an attempt to establish contact with Russia's only space telescope Spektr-R has failed.
• Labour set to call vote to topple Theresa May's government Press TV 13 Jan 2019 -- Labour MPs have been told to be ready for a vote of no-confidence in the government of Prime Minister Theresa May in case she suffers a defeat over her Brexit deal, a report says.
• UK PM May: Failure to Back Her Brexit Plan Would Be 'Catastrophic' Sputnik 13 Jan 2019 -- British Prime Minister Theresa May has warned lawmakers that if they fail to back her plan for leaving the EU, the consequences will be catastrophic.
• Sudan police fire tear gas at protesters in Khartoum, Darfur Press TV 13 Jan 2019 -- Sudanese police have fired tear gas at crowds of anti-government protesters in the capital Khartoum and the western region of Darfur during nationwide demonstrations against the 30-year rule of President Omar al-Bashir.
• Greek prime minister calls confidence vote after ally quits Press TV 13 Jan 2019 -- Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has called an immediate vote of confidence in his government at the parliament after his Defense Minister Panos Kammenos – a coalition ally – announced his resignation in protest against a deal to solve a long-standing dispute with neighboring Macedonia.
• Greek Defense Minister Resigns Over Macedonia Name Deal RFE/RL 13 Jan 2019 -- Greek Defense Minister Panos Kammenos announced his resignation ahead of a parliamentary vote to ratify a deal ending a decades-old name dispute with Macedonia.
• Poland Plans to Build Artificial Island on Outskirts of Russian Exclave Sputnik 13 Jan 2019 -- The island will be owned by the Polish government, but it remains unclear what purpose it will serve. According to media reports, access to the island will be restricted.
• Hezbollah Head Nasrallah Suffers Heart Attack – Reports Sputnik 13 Jan 2019 -- The news comes amid the conclusion of the Israel Defence Forces' (IDF) Operation Northern Shield, aimed at demolishing secret tunnels, allegedly dug by Hezbollah from Lebanon to Israel.
• UN welcomes progress in former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia naming dispute UN News 13 Jan 2019 -- The Secretary-General's Personal Envoy for the naming dispute between Greece and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), Matthew Nimetz, has welcomed the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia parliament's decision to ratify an agreement on a new name for the latter country, following a dispute that has lasted some 28 years.
• Regional Bloc Urges Vote Recount in DRC Poll VOA 13 Jan 2019 -- A southern African regional bloc urged officials in the Democratic Republic of Congo Sunday to recount the votes of its recent contested presidential election.
• Chad, CAR Threaten to Abandon Cameroon Port, Blame Corruption VOA 13 Jan 2019 -- Landlocked Chad and the Central African Republic have dispatched senior customs officials to Cameroon to look into allegations of corruption in the Atlantic Coast port of Douala.
• Opposition and Democracy Activists Criticize Election Coverage in Bangladesh VOA 13 Jan 2019 -- In the wake of Bangladesh's recent general election, opposition coalition and pro-democracy activists expressed disappointment with alleged episodes of vote manipulation going largely unreported in the local media. But several journalists argue that fear of government reprisals led many media outlets to avoid publishing stories about the alleged wrongdoing.